


Falling asleep (while wishing you were awake)

by Delirious_Insanity



Series: Tired, in more ways than one [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Steve Harrington, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mentioned Billy Hargrove - Freeform, Mentioned Jim "Chief" Hopper - Freeform, Nondescriptive Injuries, Steve Harrington Has Bad Parents, Tired Steve Harrington
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:35:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29926623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delirious_Insanity/pseuds/Delirious_Insanity
Summary: His heartbeat was loud in his ears, a constant bumping and throbbing that showed he was alive. It was cold, and he distantly wished Hop was there to drive him home.Tears fell as he walked, alone and cold. He couldn't stop the hysterical laugh, finding it ironic that this situation described his life perfectly.Lonely and cold.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington & Jim "Chief" Hopper, Steve Harrington & The Party
Series: Tired, in more ways than one [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2042470
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Falling asleep (while wishing you were awake)

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this installment took so long! I'm thinking maybe 1 or 2 more short stories to add and I'll be finished with the series? Possibly 3? We'll see. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this one as much as you have the other two. As mentioned in the tags, there is a character death, not described but mentioned, so please be careful while reading if that bothers you.

Steve was still tired. 

His heart was empty, he couldn't find it in himself to even pretend anymore. To smile or laugh. 

There was a constant ringing in his ears, like static from a broken television. 

_Or,_ Steve thought. 

_Could be the drugs..._

From fighting Russians in a secret lab to seeing his enemy (but not really. They had a complicated relationship) die, Steve was done. 

Max was sobbing, holding onto Billy's dead body while everyone else tried to comfort her. 

They were still waiting for Joyce and Hopper to come back, obviously alive because the Mind Flayer was dead. 

Steve felt his throat tighten out of nowhere, the tightness causing pain. Tears leaked from his eyes, his body seeing what he wasn't registering. Slowly, he began to actually see what his body was responding to, and- 

Oh. 

_Oh._

A sob escaped his throat, seeing Joyce all alone with pain-filled eyes. Hopper.... 

_Hopper didn't make it._

The man who became a father figure to him, someone that saw _him_ and still cared, was just gone. Dead, out of the world. 

No one noticed her yet, everyone still caught up on Billy. Slowly, as her footsteps echoed in the burning Starcourt Mall, everybody turned to her, new pain hitting every heart. 

El was openly sobbing now, her mind knowing what happened. Her face was scrunched up, reddening as she ran towards Joyce. 

The women, bless her, just opened her arms and held El, speaking quietly into her hair. Her eyes were beginning to glisten, and Steve turned away. 

His body was shaking, although he couldn't figure out exactly what from. 

(The drugs? Overexertion? Perhaps losing someone that actually cared for him?) 

Black blood was pooling around his knees, shimmering in the bright lights. Steve stared at the blood, feeling as if the world was crushing his shoulders. 

His mind shut down, overloaded with sensitive information. He could only watch as people were led out by paramedics, himself following the flow. 

When they spoke to him, it was garbled, like they were underwater, so he just didn't speak. 

After they checked his injuries and bandaged the ones that needed it, he stumbled, going to find Robin. He just wanted a familiar face, a close familiar face. 

Steve glanced to the ToddFather, finding her leaning against the passenger door. As he walked to her, Steve took in where everyone was. 

Joyce and El were at one ambulance together, sharing a small shock blanket. Mike and Will were with Nancy and Jonathan, speaking in low tones but worry evident in their voices. 

Steve felt his heart constrict at the sight of them, a family that he wished he had. The tightness crept up his throat, making it hard to breathe. He forced himself to look away, finding Robin's eyes. 

Reaching her, he was finally able to breathe. 

"Hey. How're you doing?" 

He tried to act nonchalant, like his whole world wasn't crashing down, even though it was. She just deadpanned, staring at him. 

"Well," Robin started, her voice trembling slightly. "I just found out that monsters are real, Russians are terrifying, and people die in extreme ways. I feel like I'm doing pretty good." 

Steve forced a snort, a small smile on his lips. 

"Yeah," he hummed. "That about sums up everything we've been through." 

They stayed together in silence, a comfortable but heavy one, filled with too many emotions, but not enough at the same time. 

~~~ 

When the police talked to everybody, the cover story made, they were allowed to go home. Joyce took home all the kids, promising to be back and grab Jonathan and Nancy. Robin had called her parents with a payphone, saying they were on their way. Steve, well, he planned on walking home. 

He stayed long enough to make sure no one was alone, only starting the trek back when he was by himself. 

His heartbeat was loud in his ears, a constant bumping and throbbing that showed he was alive. It was cold, and he distantly wished Hop was there to drive him home. 

Tears fell as he walked, alone and cold. He couldn't stop the hysterical laugh, finding it ironic that this situation described his life perfectly. 

Lonely and cold. 

Finding his street, Steve saw that the lights were on, a very familiar car parked out front. He could already hear the shouting, feel the ghosts of harmful hands and objects for the missing car. 

But it was okay. 

He would survive. 

Better him than the kids, right? He already failed Billy, he couldn't fail the others, too. 

So, inhaling deeply, he stepped into his own personal warzone, locking himself inside. 

When they left in the morning, leaving a list of everything that needed to be cleaned, Steve was on the livingroom floor, a plethora of injuries he was used to. 

He listened to the car driving away, his tormentors getting farther and farther from him, and smiled. 

Steve survived another night.


End file.
